Flames That Whisper
Desperation hung heavily over the Ghoul's side of the field as the final minutes of their duel came close. Though only half had been struck well enough, with the other left at full health, the second of the 'Masks' had gone from almost full strength to a mere seventeen hundred with a single mistake. And thanks to that single strike, the supposed cooperation between the two masked figures they were arguing and slipping into neat little cracks in their work. It would only take moments to divide that into a canyon... And as the mask of 'Darkness' set a card face down that was more than obvious, with the ghoul scowling and red-faced in his more than evident panic.
"Hn! Now it's my turn," Seto roared, mutterings of power filling her mind as she stared across the field. "You think 'cooperation' is the key," she spat, pointing her dragon forward while Yugi frowned in response to the remark, "Take this! The ultimate attack... Blue-Eyes! BURST STREAM OF DESTRUCTION," she roared, the monster charging its flames in response. True... It was so blatantly obvious that Darkness set a trap it was pathetic.
But who said she wanted the attack to go through..? "Heh... Reveal trap," Darkness shouted, the holographic card swinging upward as a large and toothy steel mask appeared to shield its owner from Blue-Eye's flames. The heat washed over the roof of the building as Blue-Eyes growled, beating its wings in agitation as its former target continued to laugh. "Mask of Impregnability! Even your so-called ultimate monster can't break through this," the man boasted with a laugh, Seto merely watching with crossed arms and a blank expression as the flames dissipated across the field. "Too bad Kaiba... I knew you'd try and wipe me out..."
"Hnhnhnhn..." Darkness appeared to lose the expression somewhat as his opponent chuckled, the blocked attack not phasing Seto in the slightest. "Yes... You barely escaped with your life didn't you 'shrimp'," the woman 'asked' somewhat sarcastically, glancing at the white-masked ghoul as the man jumped. "You were lucky this time... My Blue-Eyes White Dragon could have taken out either one of you," she continued with a menacing smirk, the Mask of Light suddenly growing almost as pale as his mask. "You're a smaller target," she went on with a shrug, "But I suppose it doesn't matter..." No... Not 'really'... Hnhnhnhnhn... "After all," Seto said plainly, "If I had aimed at you... Would that moron you call a partner have used his spell card to protect you," she asked, before answering for the ghoul. "No... No I don't think he would have, with such a high risk to himself," she muttered, eyes flashing somewhat as she continued to smirk. "Hnhnhnhnhn..."
"H... Ghk..!" Light stared across the field with wide eyes as the words struck home, his partner giving an audible swallow in response as he tensed, balking at the accusations.
"W-What... Are you completely insane," he roared as his opponent continued to smirk, turning to his partner with a still panicked expression in place. "Look here... There's no way he's right," the ghoul protested, visibly shaking as his partner stood in still silence. "If... If he'd attacked you," he continued with quivering breaths, "I'd definitely have activated that card, you hear that shrimpy! I swear on my life, I-"
"Don't call me Shrimp," 'Light' hissed, a broken grin on his face whilst he turned to leer at his partner, "Unless you want your throat slit..." Well. Death threats already ah?
Hmp! Well she supposed they weren't assassins for nothing... Light continued to rage from across the field as his opponents stared, angrily announcing his turn as he drew his next card. So long as they had Blue-Eyes they would have the advantage Seto told herself, the dragon in question standing on the concrete roof behind her and staring from between herself and Yugi. Its scales shimmered brightly beneath the sun's light as it stood, looking to its summoner with what amounted to a dragon's version of a grin. Heh! No matter what, they'd won! They-
"I'll play this spell card," Light announced, setting the card on the field along with three others, the cards briefly appearing in a line across the field with their backs to the duelists. "Chosen One! I get to play three face down cards, one a monster, the other not," he explained, a top appearing before them as the cards he'd summoned circled around to form a slight triangle formation. Shit. Not this one... "This top will spin automatically," the man 'explained' clearly, eyes narrowed in deep contrast to his mask. "And when it stops," he continued, "If the mask is pointing at the monster I can summon it immediately, no strings attached..." Which meant a very high level monster was probably in that pile... Tch! "Now then! Start the wheel," Light called out, opponents both growing pale as the device began to spin rapidly above the field. Crap. If that thing landed on the monster...
There was a very, very high possibility that they were screwed over. The top was slowing down now, colours blurring together before again becoming separate 'blobs'... The mask was facing forward, hollowed eyes leering as it stared at its choice...
And as the card swung upward, the rest of the cards and top vanishing, she could hear nothing but her opponent's wild and wicked laughter, mentally cursing her own luck. "HAH! Luck is on my side," the masked man roared, a great and disgusting mass of flesh and bone appearing to the field. Standing on two legs with clawed arms the beast filled half the field, masks staring forward as a feminine torso and face appeared bound to the monster's chest. The 'woman' like the rest of the beast was left unidentified however, straps and flesh both holding her in place as the monster stood above them. It was a newer monster... But by far one she recognized, the woman thought with a swallow. "BEHOLD," Light announced, a digitized snarl filling the air as the new monster hovered before them. "The Masked Beast, Death Guardius!" Tch... Death Guardius... A monster whose effects were unknown to her, but whose power was all more apparent...
It was more powerful than Blue-Eyes, by three hundred points! And what was worse, the woman noted with a growl, staring at the two ghouls across from her with wide and enraged eyes, it'd convinced the idiots that they'd actually 'help' the other stay on their feet...
Because clearly human nature didn't play into things right? Augh. Damn it all... Blue-Eyes wouldn't stand against that thing, and there was nothing in her hand to say otherwise. But...
The woman swallowed, glancing to the side with narrowed eyes as her rival stared at his hand. He was obviously sure of something in his hands... And on the field, his magnet warriors, Alpha, Beta... There was one monster missing in Yugi's 'trio' however she noted, and if he pulled it out it would stop the Mask's 'no tribute' clause dead in its tracks. But only if that was what he was indeed planning. Logic told her it was- everything else... "Lets see," 'Light' was muttering across them, Seto looking from Yugi's monsters to her dragon and swallowing another growl. "Who will be the first to step through Hell's gates..."
As the masked ghouls were about to say, Yugi would be killed in one shot if he was attacked right now. His monster, in attack mode, would be easily destroyed, and the eight hundred point price of his turn would do the rest. ...But...
...She didn't want that, she realized with a cold shudder, looking back at her dragon in the corner of her eye. Blue-Eyes would die if she prevented it, and she would be left defenseless in the aftermath but...
She... 'Careful,' Darkness was muttering, turning to his partner with narrowed eyes, posture filled with suspicion. 'If we leave Kaiba's dragon on the field,' he continued worriedly, 'He might be able to attack one of us...'
Light merely shook the request off, snarling under his breath. 'Shut up,' his partner growled, staring at his opponent with crazed eyes, 'I'm killing Yugi, right now!' Hn... No.
They weren't. "Hmph..." Seto put a fox-like grin on her face, arms crossed as she leered across the field. "So now that he has a decent monster on the field, the tiny little 'shrimp' thinks he's a 'big man'," the woman drawled, the Mask of Light growing dark-faced in response to the insult. Please work... "Hnhnhnhn... Go ahead and kill Yugi," she continued calmly, still smirking as her opponent grew more and more incensed. "I have cards in my hand that will power up Blue-Eyes even more after all... And on my next turn," Seto taunted lowly, smirk growing even darker, "She'll crush you both..."
"Gh..." One could practically hear and see the cogs turning in the Mask of Light's mind, Seto closing her eyes as the decision was made. Attack, or don't attack? Was she bluffing... Or no? In the end, it looked more like using that single insult of 'shrimp' would fix it for her though. "Very well! I ATTACK BLUE EYES," the man roared, the masked demon charging forward with another computerized howl. Bone claws slashed through the dragon's throat as it gave a strangled cry, scales torn open to reveal the inner workings of the monster's throat. Blood was pouring to the ground beside her as Guardius floated back to its position, the dragon seeming to cry before the blood and gore vanished from sight with the monster's dying body.
A strange if not haunting hallucination... Forgive her, she whispered in the back of her mind, closing her eyes as she banished the image from her thoughts. But she needed to do this. "Yugi," the woman growled, eyes flying open as her field was left clean and clear, "It's your turn!"
It would be well worth it in the end, when she helped Mokuba out of these ghoul's grasp.
Drip... Drip...
That was the sound that was filling the air in the small storage container he'd been locked in, arms tied tightly and painfully behind his back to the chair. His legs had been given a similar treatment as his body had, each tied to the leg of the chair he was on. There was something wet in the room, that was for sure. Maybe water leaking in from the 'roof', the bin could have a hole in it for all he knew. Really though, at the moment he couldn't have been bothered. That dream he'd had while passed out... He'd seen...
Masks..? Yugi and Seto, standing in thin air as they fought a pair of masked men. 'Light' and 'Darkness', his mind told him, before something else caught his attention. "Well well well," an eerie and sophisticated voice cut through the air, light filling the bin from behind him before a slamming door and three shadows blotted it out. "You're finally awake..."
A pair of steady flames filled the room with the voice, Katsuya swallowing as two men walked in along side a shadowed and cloaked figure. The trio walked toward the front of him, facing the blond with hooded and unseen features that prevented any recognizable points from being seen. This man... "...Malik," the blond spat, running his tongue along the inside of his cheek as blood dripped in his mouth. Well... Obviously he'd been roughed up while he was off in 'dream land'... But this man... This vile, twisted son of a-
"Hnhnhnhnhn... So comforting to see that you remember me," the cloaked man muttered, voice seeming both familiar and foreign to the blond. There was no visible accent in the confidently held voice, none whatsoever. Yet he couldn't help but wonder if he'd heard it before... "It's even better that you would wake up as I come in," Malik said plainly, stepping forward with crossed arms. "I would hate to have had to use other means to do so after all, I'm a very busy man... And I prefer my dolls to be... Intact," he continued, chuckling darkly as his captive began rocking in the chair in a failed attempt to escape.
Katsuya only briefly stopped pulling at the chair, turning toward Malik with rage filled eyes as his vision adjusted to the darkness. "Tch! Like hell I'm b'comin' one 'f yer dolls," he snarled, attempting to launch himself forward only for his chair to be held back by one of the still flaming ghouls. Gh- Damn it!
Malik shook his head, sighing as he pulled out a 'rod' of sorts from the folds of his robes. Another item... The blond swallowed as he looked at the 'horned' staff, its owner continuing to sigh as he stepped forward. "Hahhh... Yes well... I don't really have time to listen to words like that," he decided, rubbing the top of the rod as it gleamed in the light cast from his 'doll's flames. "So how about we get this over with," he muttered, holding it in Katsuya's face as the teen swallowed.
Crap.
Flames erupted from the staff with those words, the eye on the device appearing to grow and degrade into the same white 'mush' that built a true one, its single gold iris turning toward the blond with clear anticipation. Arms of fires lashed out from the staff's 'horns' as Katsuya paled, pulling and pushing back in the chair as the fires wrapped about his legs and burned across his skin. "Gh- Get away from me," he spat, the ghoul holding him finding the chair pulled from his grip by the panicked struggles, the bound victim trying and failing to crawl away while tied to the chair. Those in the room appeared to look at him with bizarre and amused confusion, their victim no longer caring for the appearance of sanity. "I told you," he spat, blowing still damp hair from his face as he bit back a shout from the flames that were spreading across his legs and waist. "You aren't gettin' anythin' from me!"
Silence was the blond's response as he hissed in pain, fires spreading up toward his chest. Gh- Hgn! "Hnn... Yes," Malik muttered with a sigh, fingering the staff in his hands, "I expected some form of resistance..." Again the leader of the Ghoul's fell silent, as though attempting to observe what only his victim could see; the burning flames of the rod in his hands, that which were appearing to sear into Katsuya's skin without leaving a mark beneath his clothes even as they dripped from the sea water of his previous duel. "Come on now," the ghoul drawled, stooping down to look at the blond face to face. "I'm sure there's something in that tiny little head of yours that hates your so called 'friend' the pharaoh..."
"An' I'm pretty sure tha' yer a loose-screw psychopath, but we can't all be righ'!" More silence came in response to the spit he'd thrown at his captor as Malik stepped away, Katsuya biting his lip in the steadily increasing pain. Ow... Ow ow ow, the fires hurt. He'd compare it to constantly getting stung by wasps, even fire ants maybe, but rather than giving him a bite or sting in its place as the pain died it merely continued to sear across his skin and travel across his body. The blond bit his lip as the flames filled his vision, seemingly burning away at his arms and legs as he attempted to escape. 'Kurose', someone muttered in his mind, Katsuya seething as he recognized the tones of the 'Millennium Rod' merging and mutating his own mental voice. 'Kurose, kurose, KUROSE!' "Ghn... NNNH... NO," he roared, the ghouls in the room staring as he continued to struggle with some renewed strength against the ties of his chair. "Go fuck yerselves y' rats!"
"Hnnn..." Another sigh met the air, the ghoul shaking his head before reaching forward. "Come on, come on now... You don't really think that now do you," the item-bearer 'asked', pulling the blond up by his hair as Katsuya grit his teeth. Ffff- Let him go! The chair wobbled dangerously while it was held up in the ghoul's grip, Katsuya breathed haggardly and choking back a number of shouts of pain as the flames burned across his face. "Think about it," Malik continued, 'kneeling' down and tilting his victim's head upward with the rod, "If your friend really cared, would you be in here, tied to a chair? Hm?"
"Tch... I already know where he is y' jackass, an as soon as he sends yer stupid masks t' hell he'll be right over t'... GHN!" The blond clattered to the ground with those words, Malik having dropped him to stare in shock.
Gh... Ow... "...So you know of the Masks," the man muttered under his breath, ignoring the writhing pain that his captive was going through on the ground. The chair was jerked to its rightful position once more, Katsuya's head falling forward as his captor chuckled. "Hnnn... I think I'll try something," the man continued with a sneer, pulling from the bottom of the Millennium Rod to reveal a gleaming, razor sharp blade of gold from within. What... A sword? The item had a sword! What was he doing with that though, what-
A stinging pain rushed across his right arm, cutting the thoughts short. "Ssffff!" Blood was spilling from his arm as the ropes were cut from around him, Katsuya pulled out of the chair by the back of his jacket before being tossed to the other end of the storage bin. "Ungh!" The flames dove into the open wound with seeming cheer and zeal as the blond bit his lip, curling in on himself as he bit back the immense and intensifying pain that resulted in an instant. Blood... The fires were going in through his... "Gnn... Hgnnn..."
"Open the doors," Malik said with a grin, his captive holding his arm as he writhed in pain. "Lets see what his little friend thinks of this new... 'Development'..."
"Gnnh..." The doors to the bin were thrown open, allowing him entrance to what looked to be a dimly lit warehouse. There was little time to adjust to the comparatively blinding light as he was kicked outside however, doors held open behind him as blood dripped to the ground. For a moment, he attempted to walk, pulling himself to his feet to stumble forward, but the pain was growing... Encompassing his entire body, forcing the teen to fall to his knees and clutch himself in pain. "Ghn... Ahhh... HAAAAHHH..." His head... Katsuya gripped the sides of his head, curling in on himself as he attempted to fight off the flames covering him. "AAAHHH!" His head, his HEAD! Like something was fighting to break out of his own skull, digging into every inch of him with sharpened blades. "HRAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
"Jonouchi," a worried voice shouted, the blond pulling himself to his feet with wide eyes as he stumbled through the pain. No... No that was Anzu, he couldn't, ah, AHHH! Fires were surrounding his vision, blocking every bit of the room's interior from his sight. Katsuya curled in on himself as he drunkenly swayed on the spot, a shadow moving in the side of the room as he swallowed. No no no no no...
'Kurose... KUROSE, KUROSE, KUROSE!'
"Ghng..." It hurt... It hurt so much damn it, if it would just stop please... "AAAAAGGHHH! MALIK! ...GO BURN IN HELL!"
Footsteps were coming over the air, the pain reaching its zenith in toleration. "J-Jonouchi," Anzu's nervous voice shouted, the woman coming around the side. Don't... Anzu don't, don't, don'-
Something 'snapped' in the back of his mind amid the mental 'kill orders' and waves of hate... The burning was still there but it was suddenly numbed, and what little vision he still had was blurred by the flames as the voices momentarily paused. Sharp pains that had riddled his body vanished at the cost of being unable to see them, a strange, pin-prick feeling coating his skin as the feeling of something attaching came to mind. Anzu was over there, he told himself, slowly pulling himself up to a more upright position as he stumbled over to the woman. He had to make sure she was alright, get her out of here but- But wait... Wait...
He'd wanted her to stay away, or else..! He'd wanted to flee, to keep these fires as far from her as possible or else-
'Kill.'
No...
"Anzu," the blond whispered nervously, the sensations of his body slipping out of his grasp as his clouded vision began to fill with smoke and fires once again. "Anzu," he whispered, tears briefly welling up as he continued to grip his head, shaking himself as he stepped back in horror. "I think... I'm g-"
Gone. "Jonouchi... Jonouchi," the woman muttered, panicking as she reached toward the blond with her hand. Anzu took in a quick and hitched breath as the blond's hands fell to the side, drawing back and swallowing as she stared at her 'friend'. "What... What did they do..." Drip... Blood was dripping from his arm... "What did they do to you!" From his...
Head...
He wanted to tell her to run... But the eye across his mouth kept his jaw clamped shut. He wanted to run away himself... But the eyes across his knees and feet held his legs firmly in place before moving them closer to what he wanted to protect. And though every bit of him screamed about how wrong this was, his eyes watering in the back of his mind, the ones he was staring through were forced to remain blank and emotionless by the teeth that held them in place. Watching as his arm reached forward... As the hand that wasn't his and was coated in crocodilian teeth grabbed Anzu roughly by the hair. Watching still as the woman screamed, pulled toward him with a rough 'tug', that the flames leaping from his hands and spreading across her body would have less distance to travel. A pillar of fire that took only an instant to arise, Katsuya's screams held back by the many rows of flaming teeth holding him in control.
And as he dropped her, there was no more movement... Merely a 'doll' crumbling to the ground before standing to its feet, blankly staring at the one who had caused the flames to catch hold as 'Malik' came from behind. "Ahhh... I thought that might do it..." No... No, no no! "Now," he asked, stepping forward and pulling his cloak off to toss it to the side, the fires in Katsuya's vision preventing him from discerning the man's identity as he turned to face them. "What is your goal, my dear 'new friends'..?"
"To kill the pharaoh," Anzu stated with a blank droning voice, eyes staring forward with no fixed target while she held the purse loosely in her hand.
"To kill Yugi," his own voice clarified, Katsuya's mental self growing pale and cold. No...
No... He couldn't let this happen..! He couldn't let himself do this, he couldn't..! "Those aren't my thoughts," he 'hissed', 'shaking' his head with 'wide' eyes as the Ghoul before him chuckled darkly. "THAT AIN'T ME!"
"Yea, yea, yea... Heard it all before 'blondie'..." That voice... The sound of the Millennium Rod appeared to hover in his ear, Katsuya 'shuddering' as chuckling surrounded the body that was out of his control. Katsuya grit his mental teeth as the voice echoed through his ears, hair standing on end as the cackling grated his senses. "Hello again 'Bright Eyes... Now how about we make this run last shall we..?" Oh god... Oh god..!
"You... You damn monster..." This wasn't happening... And yet it was, despite all attempts otherwise... "GET OUT OF MY HEAD," Katsuya 'roared', voice unheard to all but himself and the spirit that now possessed it as they walked out of the warehouse and into the sunlight. "Get out of my head you sorry excuse f'r an accessory! LEAVE 'S ALONE!"
Silence answered the blond as he 'cried' in his head, the sensation of collapse coming over him even as his body walked forward. And as he held his 'head' down chuckling again filled the air, filling him with an unbridled rage as he 'opened' his eyes to see fire yet again. "Oho-hooo! Now THIS is good... I knew you could see me from the outside kid, but from the inside..?" The spirit chuckled darkly, the sound slowly growing into a mad cackle as Katsuya shuddered. "We're going to have a lot of fun you and me," the fiend continued, briefly bringing up a hand so that his host could see the grin forming in the teeth and eye that jutted from his palm. "A lot of fun... Hnhnhnhnhnhn... HNHNHAHAHAHHAHA!"
The destruction of her Blue-Eyes was a hard hit to her, despite the minimal damage it dealt. It wasn't a blow to her pride or honor, nor was it even a blow that would put her in the 'red zone' of life points so to speak. The blow dealt seemed far more ground-breaking than that, putting a steady feeling of hate and rage around her as she stared across the field. Though her so-called partner had vowed to make up for the dragon's sacrifice, simply winning this duel did not seem to be the sort of action that would do such a thing she told herself. Nonetheless, even as the ghouls were congratulating each other, relief clear on their faces, Yugi was taking his turn, meaning that she would at least get half-way to her retribution.
His lifepoints fell yet again as he drew his card, setting a separate one from his hand in place that moment as he stared at the cheering ghouls. "Too bad," he said clearly, the men across from him staring at the boy incredulously as the boy smirked. "You've fallen right into my trap, 'Ghouls'..."
The men continued to stare, one growing pale as the other went red. "What," the taller muttered, eyes widening.
"That's impossible," Light roared, shaking his head as his partner held silent. "You're saying you were merely bluffing? But you hate each other," he protested in rage, "THIS CAN'T BE!"
Hn! Hate or not, if it got things done she would live with it. "Believe it or not," Seto growled in clear distaste, "My dragon was merely a decoy; an even stronger monster will be replacing it momentarily," she continued, the ghouls both paling in response.
"But... The Mask," Darkness protested, both ghouls looking toward the 'restriction' mask on the field with swallows.
"Hmp! Did I say I was tribute summoning," Yugi asked, card appearing on the field as he slipped the real version onto the duel disk. "Just sit back and watch- I summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior," the boy announced, the tiny winged robot appearing to the field before its card, "And now that all three are present on the field they can merge together into a new monster," he continued, the trio splitting into pieces to re-form in front of their summoner at a size far larger than their individual counterparts. "VALKYRION, THE MAGNA WARRIOR!"
The beast gave a loud and synthesized roar at the announcement, hovering above the glass floor with gleaming eyes. With thirty-five hundred attack points it stood, an enormous and winged stone warrior with a blade in hand... Hah! "Take a good look at the power of 'unity'," Seto sneered, the enormous magnetic beast standing at the 'team's side, "And prepare to die for what you've wrought! Yugi," the woman shouted, turning to her partner with still wide eyes as she growled. "Crush the fools who destroyed my dragon and took my brother! Team work is all well and good," she continued with a snarl, "But only their blood is going to make up for this!" Taking her employees, her brother...
They would pay, they would pay dearly for what they'd done..! And yet Yugi wasn't doing anything she realized, staring at the boy in incredulity and silence. He was merely staring across the field at narrowed eyes, staring at the grotesque monster that stood across them with a frown. Gh... What was taking so long... Why..!
"What are you WAITING for," she raged, jerking her head toward the field and glaring at her rival and partner. "My Blue-Eyes sacrificed itself to bring our your monster... It's plenty powerful enough to take them down, and we're wasting time! Crush them... ANNIHILATE THEM," Seto continued with a near thundering voice, "I at least have the right to strike them down through your monster right now!"
And still the boy held silent, instead taking a card from his hand and setting it on the field with what looked to be somewhat regretful eyes. "One card face down," he announced, the card appearing before him as he turned to the side. "...Listen close Kaiba... Like you said, we don't have much time. But do you think you can get rid of the need for vengeance that's driving your thoughts right now," he asked, the words coming out far calmer than one would expect in the situation. "If you can banish those emotions from your heart, right this moment," Yugi continued after a slight pause, "I'll attack." Wh- WHAT!
"Is that some kind of joke," she hissed, expression of shock relatively unchanged as she turned on her 'partner'. The monster would clearly over power theirs, this was their shot..!
The boy merely continued to speak, arms crossed as he faced the woman with a steady and calm gaze. "At times like this," Yugi said plainly, "Emotions like anger and revenge can throw off a person's judgment... Believe me when I say, I know exactly how much that judgment can be thrown," he added bitterly, a flash seeming to appear in his eyes with the words. "But if you're not thinking rationally," the boy added warningly, "You'll expose your weakness... And play right into your opponent's hands."
Play into- "I AM thinking rationally," Seto growled, fists clenched as she looked across the field. "And right now," she snarled, "I'm telling you to ATTACK!"
"Calm DOWN," her rival shouted yet again, before bringing his voice back down to a soft and contained tone to continue. "Only then will you actually be able to see our best chance to win... Our real trump card," he pressed, looking back across the field as Seto stared at her hand with grit teeth. "Our real strength as a team..!" Shut up... Shut up!
The woman blinked, jaw loosening as she looked over her hand of cards with blank eyes. Her hand... Obelisk was in her hand she realized, a feeling of calm coming over her with the realization as opposed to the usual rush of energy and emotion. But as a God, three sacrifices were required, and with the Mask of Restrict- ...No... The woman's eyes widened briefly, staring at the card beneath Obelisk's image. Soul Exchange... Use your opponent's monsters as tributes... He...
That was right, she realized, staring across the field at 'Guardius' card. Guardius had an effect, when it died it would... "No..." He couldn't be... She looked to the side, staring almost calculatingly at Yugi's monster with wide eyes before turning back to her hand. No way... Valkyrion was supposed to be the trump, but Yugi intended for it to be a decoy as well hadn't he? He'd intended for the real trump card to be... This one... ...Hmph... The 'power of unity' ah, she thought with a mental chuckle, adjusting her crossed arms with a sigh. "...Yugi," she said calmly, taking in a deep breath as the wave of calm settled. She was 'contained' now... So... "Attack."
"Of course," the boy said with a smirk. "I thought you'd never ask." ...That wasn't even funny. "Go Valkyrion," Yugi ordered, the magnetic robot charging forward at his command, "Attack, with MAGNET SABRE!" The sword cut into the mass of flesh before it with as much ease as it would with butter, the beast's two disproportionate halves hovering around the air momentarily. As the blade split through the monster across them a wide grin appeared on their opponent's faces, Yugi's unspoken fears coming to light immediately as 'Death Guardius' vanished into pixelated light. "There... I've taken out your monster," he muttered, face pale and stony as his opponents laughed. "So..."
"Hnhnhn... HAHAHAHA! That's what you think," Light shouted with a grin, Seto momentarily tensing as a mask appeared on Valkyrion's face. "When Death Guardius is defeated in battle," the ghoul explained, "A part of the carcass detaches and comes to life... A mask," he continued gleefully, the split-faced device turning to stare forward as the monster switched sides. "Meant to deal out the monster's vengeance! The Mask of Possession," Light announced, Valkyrion hovering between himself and his partner as his opponents swallowed. Alright... Phase one of whatever moronic plan was coming into play here, but if Yugi's face down wasn't what they needed they were good as screwed over! "It's over," the masked ghoul was continuing to cheer, his partner sneering with a similar amount of haughtiness in play. "You're both out of monsters... And more importantly you're both out of tricks! Partner," Light shouted angrily, "You take Yugi... Kaiba's mine!" Oh was she now? "I'll make you pay," he spat, narrowing his eyes as he looked toward the woman. "Calling me a 'shrimp'... You think you're so great, standing as tall as you are? I'm going to enjoy watching you go down!" Tch...
Like it was her fault she was over six feet, that was a pain in the ass in Japan... Darkness merely nodded in response to his partner's raging, crossing his arms as he looked across the field. "That's fine by me," he said with a slight frown, drawing a card as he took his turn. "Here I come... Valkyrion attacks Yugi directly," he shouted, his opponent giving no reaction save to tap his duel disk.
"Hn! We'll see about that," Yugi said with a smirk, the card he'd placed swinging upward at the disk's command. "I activate this spell... De-Fusion!" The card flashed somewhat as Valkyrion fell to pieces, before vanishing from the field as its owner growled. "While you fall to your deaths, remember the reason you lost," he continued with a shout, the enormous monster before them splitting back into three individual ones before returning to the opponent's side of the field. "Anger and vengeance!"
"GH-!" Darkness paled as the three monsters hovered before him. "No..!"
"Hnhnhnhnhn... And now for my part," Seto muttered darkly, taking the two cards she needed and setting them on the disk with a leering grin. "Watch... I'll show you God..."
"God," their opponents whispered, eyes wide. "But... But that can't be," Light said with a swallow, pointing to the mask in the air, "Mask of Restrict is still in play, you can't tribute summon with-!" Oh please!
"Read the fine print," the woman spat, crossing her arms as her spell activated and revealed itself to her opponents. "I can't sacrifice my monsters to tribute summon... But sacrificing yours works just fine! I'm playing the spell card Soul Exchange," she announced, the card hovering on the field as the three monsters each shot up in pillars of light. "And I'm using all three of your monsters for sacrifices!" Yugi chuckled beside the woman as storms appeared to develop in the air, clouds darkening as she broke into laughter. "BEHOLD," she cried, thunder booming from above as the rain-less storming sky converged above them. Low moans filled the air as dust and sand seemed to gather behind her, her laughter continuing to fill the air as the monster arose. "The God of Chaos and Storm... The Soldier of the Obelisk! HAHAHAHAHAAAAA!"
"ROOOOOOOOHHHHH!" Behind her on the building only the torso of the great god was visible to her opponents. Obelisk stood, unbeknownst to her, at a size far too immense to stand on the building after all, with feet that would easily destroy the very glass they stood upon... As it was, the demon's shins were easily the size of train cars, with one sitting on the ground along side the window while the other sat raised on the building's stair entrance. And as the God crouched behind her, a single fist resting on the ground behind them, its loud groans echoed through the air, wide wings of sorts spread upon his back in the same stone-like guise as his body. Hnhnhn...
Hahahahaha! The power that filled the air... It was almost addicting, to the point where she wasn't even aware that her next words were partially mirrored by the monster itself. "NOW DIE YOU PATHETIC WORMS...
"GOD HAND CRUSHER!"
The result appeared to happen at the exact moment Obelisk's fist struck the Mask of Darkness, the ghoul's lifepoints extinguished immediately with the contact of 'God's raised hand. The fist appeared to force the man into the glass with an instant, crushing the support and shattering the floor beneath 'Darkness' before the 'bomb' could even explode. With so little time to react, it was all the man could do to scream in terror, watching as glass fell forward along with him, rushing toward the main floor at breakneck speed. "Hnhnhnhnhn... One touch from God is all it takes," Seto said with an almost crazed grin, Obelisk straightening behind her with a rumbling chuckle as well. "As you said before... ENJOY HELL!"
"Ha... HAAAAHHH!"
"P-PARTNER," 'Light' shouted, running to the edge of the destroyed skylight pane. "Partner!"
"AAAAHHHH! S-SHIT!" Screams filled the air, echoing out into the distance before abruptly cutting short, the remaining ghoul looking over the side while his opponents stared down in distaste. With a quick curse and a rustling sound the man had been blocked from view by a wave of fabric, the black-masked ghoul now calmly floating down to the bottom by means of a well hidden parachute. The mask of Light sighed in relief, shouting down worried questions about his partner's health as Yugi shook his head from across the roof.
"Hn! A parachute," the boy 'asked' with narrowed eyes. "I had a feeling you'd have some tricks up your sleeves..." Probably didn't expect this thought, Seto growled mentally. "Some 'death match' this turned out to be," Yugi growled, a slight tinge of disappointment in his voice as he brought to words the thoughts of his 'partner' as well. The ghoul across from him merely shuddered under the combined glares from both Seto and Yugi, swallowing as he stepped back from the two. "Well," the boy continued with crossed arms, "Now that you've lost your team mate, you mind as well give up and tell us what you've done with our friends... We've won," he he snarled, eyes narrowed sharply, "And whether you forfeit or not you'll be following after your partner soon enough!"
Tch... As if they were giving him the choice! "It's not over yet," Seto growled, dark 'grin' still in place even as Yugi turned his duel disk off. "You said it yourself, 'Mask of Light'... In order to win a tag-team match, both opponents need to be eliminated!" Or 'killed' as it were in his words, she added mentally. "Until you follow after your so-called partner," she snarled, "I'm not about to back down!"
Yugi turned to the woman somewhat incredulously, gesturing to the ghoul with a frown. "Kaiba, he's already lost his will to fight," the boy muttered, shaking his head as he looked at the quivering man across from them. "He's completely useless, there's no point! It'll only hurt our honor!"
"Pff!" Maybe his honor, but certainly not hers! "My honor is preserved by crushing the enemies that stand in my way... And in the case of fools who threaten what's mine, I plan on continuing with that path! I might have partnered up with you this match," the woman continued stonily, turning to Yugi as the boy frowned almost sadly, "But that was out of necessity and nothing more... No matter what happens in the end we will fight," she growled, narrowing her eyes. "And on that day I'll win... And I'll take your God card, before leaving you in the dust behind me..." And nothing was going to stop that, she told herself.
Nothing. "Gh... Kaiba," her rival hissed, growing red before falling silent. Hn! As she thought... What else would he possibly have said. Now, to deal with the scum on the other side of the skylig-
"Ahh..." The two boys turned as shouts came over the air, both looking over at the white masked man that had fallen to his knees before them. "Ahhh... AHHHH..." What in the hell was he..? The man gripped his head, ripping the mask off as he scratched and clawed at the center of his brow, hands burrowing into his hood as he curled inward and screamed. "AAAHHH! NO! NO," he begged, shouts reaching a pathetic and pleading pitch as he turned his head skyward, "MALI-"
A sickening crack cut the man's voice off, head snapping jerkily to the side and holding still for a moment before the small-sized man pulled himself to his feet. "Ahhhh... Now that's much better," 'Light' muttered with a sigh, Seto frowning in shock as an accent identical to the man near the canal hit the air. "I just hate backseat drivers..." What... How was this possible... "I've been watching the entire time," the voice bragged, quite clearly a 'different' person than the masked man had been despite all common logic. "I have to say," he continued, "I'm impressed... That show of power with the God of the Obelisk... And to so accurately announce his presence too," the voice said with a chuckle, allowing the body to stand limp in the air, "My my... How appropriate..."
Appropriate..? What was this man even talking about? "What the hell is going on here," Seto manged to mutter under her breath, staring at the man before them with narrowed eyes. A chilled feeling had come over the air as the field cleared of holographic cards, the storm above vanishing as the two duelists continued to stare.
"It's Malik," Yugi hissed, narrowing his eyes and stepping forward. "Bastard... Malik," he roared, glaring at the man as his hood blew back to reveal what looked to be an 'eye'. It was the same bulging pattern of veins across the man's head as had been seen on the man at the canal, Seto realized quickly enough, identical in shape, colour... An impossible feat, she told herself. And yet... "Stop hiding behind your henchmen and face me directly," her rival shouted, Seto's eyes narrowing further as chuckling filled the air.
"Hnhnhnhn... I don't think I will just yet," the ghoul laughed, appearing almost ghostly with the pale skin of its host contrasting against the cloak he wore. "It's far more amusing to watch you squirm after all..."
"Gh..." Well she couldn't deny this 'voice' was good at pushing buttons, but besides that...
What the hell was this... 'Malik'? That wasn't... "That's not possible," Seto muttered, eyes narrowed. "'Malik' was at the canal," the woman protested, partially to convince herself, "This can't be..." And yet the voice... The way he moved... Wasn't moving even...
"It is," her rival growled under his breath, answering the unasked question with a snarl. "He's controlling this man from a distance... Malik is the leader of the ghouls," Yugi continued with narrowed eyes, "He's the one who holds the third God card, and the one who likely ordered Mokuba captured!"
Malik was... Her third target then... And a much bigger target too with that last point in mind. Seto's eyes widened briefly, before narrowing to slits as the man before them spoke up once again. "Khnhnhn... An accurate assumption," he said with a chuckle, forcing the body into an awkward bow, "It's nice to speak with you directly 'Seto Kaiba'. I must say... You've both done a wonderful job of putting up with my men. Bought me some well needed time," Malik said with a drawling tone, "And thanks to that, my plan is moving quite swimmingly... By this point," he continued, "I have more than enough information on your decks, and on yourselves, to know that even with Gods in your hands you're no threat to me... Not now that I know what sorts of things will get you on 'edge', what sorts of things will push your buttons so to speak... Not while I possess Ra," the man 'clarified' with a wave, "The God whose power surpasses that of the other God's combined... It's the ultimate card," Malik bragged with a chuckle, the body he possessed merely standing limply at the side of the broken glass window. "A card whose power can be rivalled by no other being on this earth..." The power of Ra...
It... Surpassed both of the others..? A buzzing noise took Seto's attention, the woman jumping as she grabbed the radio at her collar. Someone was calling her, which meant there was a chance it was- "Nee-sama," a hurried, whispered voice muttered Seto freezing as her brother's voice came over the line, "Nee-sama," he asked quickly, "Are you there? Are you alright?" Moku- Mokuba..!
She grabbed the radio subtly, turning slightly from the others on the roof as she held the 'transmit' button. "I'm fine," the woman whispered quietly, watching and listening as 'Malik' continued to go on speaking to her rival. "Mokuba," she continued seriously, "Where are you? I want you to describe very carefully where-"
"Nee-sama," the boy hissed, cutting his sister off with a panicked whisper. "They have Anzu and Katsuya-nii! I... I managed to escape with Anzu's help," he continued, "But-"
"MALIK," Yugi roared, Seto wincing slightly as the teen snarled at the ghoul before him. Thank God she wasn't holding the 'transmitt' button on the radio, lest Mokuba end up more frightened than before... The boy before her was completely red with rage, shaking on the spot as his target stood 'emotionlessly' across from him. "What did you do to him," he asked with a snarl, "WHAT DID YOU DO WITH JONOUCHI?" Jonou-
Shit. "Nee-sama," Mokuba was muttering over the shouts, "I've managed to get one of the company's helicopters... I'm coming toward your signal now," he continued with an audible swallow, "I can take you to where they were holding me after that, and we can help Anzu and Katsuya-nii esca-"
"Hnhnhnhnhn..." More chuckling came over the air, briefly This will be my best puppet show yet," Malik said smugly, the wind buffeting the cloak his host wore. "Your friends stopped being your 'friends' over half an hour ago my dear 'Pharaoh'... But hey! I'm feeling generous," he said with a chuckle, pulling two cards from the man's pocket before tossing them to the ground before them. "So here's a card, from me to you, and to your friend on the side... A parting gift," Malik added with an unseen grin, the cloak around his host causing him to appear to hover above the ground almost. "Because you see, when you do manage to find my newest puppets you're in for a real treat Yugi... So come on, meet them there... On the stage of the Damned..."
"Malik..." Yugi choked on his words as laughter filled the air, charging forward with a snarl. "MALIK YOU BASTARD!" Without warning the ghoul's body toppled to the side, Yugi running to the side of the broken skylight to shout down the synthetic 'chasm' of sorts as the Mask of Light's corpse toppled to the main floor. "MALIK!"
Shit. Not good. Seto paled, hurriedly tapping the side of the radio with narrowed eyes. "Double check Jonouchi's location and get here as fast as you can," she muttered under her breath, glancing to the side as Yugi slowly stood from where the ghoul had fallen. "And be careful," she added with a swallow, eyes shifting off to the other side of the building as she removed her hand from the 'transmit' button, duel disk automatically disengaging as she brought her hands back down.
A split second of silence passed before she received an answer, Mokuba likely nodding in response. "...Alright nee-sama," he said swiftly, a brief moment of static passing over the radio before she was left with silence. Alright. He would probably be there any moment now then, but until that happened...
"Kaiba..." The woman turned as Yugi came over, the boy's eyes wide with desperation as he stared at the woman. "Kaiba... Please! Tell me where Jonouchi is," he asked, formerly red face now white with fear for the blond. "You said yourself you could track him down... There's a good chance Mokuba's with him," he added, "Just tell me where he is-"
"Mokuba just called in to say he's escaped," the woman said plainly, voice again unhidden as she walked to where Malik had dropped the two cards. She mind as well get that out of the way lest time be wasted asking what happened at least. "He's the one who can track Jonouchi, not me," she added with a frown. After all; it was hard to make a satellite search without a computer on hand. The woman knelt down to look at the locator cards, keeping an ear open for the helicopter as she changed the subject. "Ahhhh, but would you look at this," she muttered, grabbing the cards from the ground and tossing one toward her 'friend'. "We've gotten our 'prize'... Locator cards," the woman continued, "One for each of us... I have six now," Seto said plainly, slowly pulling the cards out of her pocket as she stowed her deck safely away. "Therefore earning the right to participate in the final round... Moreover," she continued, sliding the locator cards into the duel disk one by one, "You also qualify now... And as host of the tournament, I have to congratulate you; only those with the cards can access the location of the finals after all, so lets see..." She opened up the 'field spell' slot, clicking the last of her locator cards into place as Yugi shook with rage beside her.
"I don't CARE about the finals! I don't care about this tournament, about the God cards... I just want to get my friends," the boy roared, locator card sitting at his feet as he snarled, "I need to save them... If Mokuba's escaped, then tell him to find Jonouchi, and HELP!"
Really... From the one who had lectured her on keeping calm; here she was with a completely straight face while he was red and livid. Didn't he think she wanted her security guard back? Training employees took time... Or at least, that was the excuse she was giving herself this time really; the reason would probably change in another hour or so, not that she was saying anything. "Hn! Friends... I'll admit it Yugi," the woman said somewhat flatly, "Your power of 'unity', 'our teamwork'," she 'corrected', "Was what won that match we had just now... But in a real battle," Seto continued with narrowed eyes, turning the duel disk back on with a 'whirr', "The only person you can trust is yourself... Everyone else just gets in the way. That's my philosophy- I walk alone... And I always will," she spat, the disk clacking into place and settling on her arm. "And that will never change."
"But you of all people should know that you need to fight to protect what's important to you," Yugi protested almost desperately, shaking his head as he stared at the woman. "I've seen you outside of a duel... I've seen you with your brother, and with Jonouchi," he continued with a frown, "You can't deny you care! Can you really say you aren't worried about either of them?"
Mokuba, no... Even though he was on his way now, there was still an uneasy feeling in the air about whether or not he would make it. And as for Jonouchi...
A flash came from the side, pulling her attention forward as the disk's entire 'field width' filled with light. "...Look," Seto said plainly, watching as the map of domino appeared holographically before them to distract her from the question that was now gnawing the back of her mind. "This is what happens when you gather six locator cards. A virtual panorama of the entire city... This ray of light you see here," she explained as she gestured to the pin-point 'tower' in question, "Marks the stage of the finals..." And from the looks of things, that location was... Hn! "Future location of the duel arena... Not very creative of him," she muttered under her breath, mentally shaking her head as Yugi continued to scowl at the side. Then again, it was a secluded location that would easily hide the airship... So she had to give Isono credit really. Slight rumbling could be heard in the distance with those thoughts though, a moving 'blob' visible from above in the corner of her eye...
So not much longer then... "Kaiba I don't have time," Yugi growled as the woman turned her duel disk off, removing the locator cards and pocketing them as she stared out from the building. "PLEASE," he shouted as Seto 'ignored' him, "Just make the call!"
Now what were his words just before? 'Fight to protect what's important'? Tch... Jonouchi was just some 'stray' that Mokuba 'let in' damn it, that was it, that was IT! There was nothing more to it, and when it came to the point he was never the target to begin with now was he? To protect what was important... "Hn... How about I ask you something then," she decided, turning back to Yugi with narrowed eyes as the boy frowned. "You care about your 'friends' so much... But if the friends you desire to protect really did turn against you," she asked somewhat testily, "Then what are you going to do? If the only way you can move forward to your 'destiny' is to run them into the ground, what will you do," Seto pressed, crossing her arms as the winds began to blow back under the approach of a helicopter. "Answer me that..."
Yugi froze at the question, eyes widening briefly before he looked away with a deep breath. "I... I don't know," he said with a swallow, before regaining his confident mask once more. "But I know where I'll find the answer," he continued.
Well... They'd better move it then hadn't they, she thought with a small smile, watching as the helicopter dropped a ladder to the roof. Mokuba... "Nii-sama," the boy shouted over the wind, taking the precautions concerning his sister's identity as he held the door open. "Nii-sama! I did what you asked," he called out with an expression of mixed relief and worry, "He's still there, at the pier! That's where they have Anzu and Katsuya-nii!"
"The pier..." The woman's rival stared with wide eyes as Seto walked toward the ladder, shaking his head. "Kaiba," Yugi whispered, turning to her in shock as the woman climbed up into the helicopter. "You..."
"Grab your locator card and get in," she shouted, moving past her brother and disguising her voice once again. "We're going to where Jonouchi is waiting!"
This time, there was no arguments or hesitation whatsoever as the teen hurriedly did just that. And as they took their seats in the helicopter, destination decided, it was all they could do to sit back and wait. Now then...
To get the answer to her 'question'...
If there was ever a definition to 'hell' Katsuya decided, it was probably either close or at least better than this. For despite all the 'stories' of what a 'horrible' place it was, it seemed as though nothing could possibly be worse than what he was going through at that moment. He couldn't see, couldn't move... He couldn't even speak, the only exceptions to the 'rule' being the accursed shade that was forcing his body to walk in the first place. Forcing him to walk toward the edge of the pier at Domino's harbor as 'preparations' were made for some 'duel to the death' that Malik had planned out.
And what was worse, that same spirit of the Rod seemed to have a nasty habit of being a snobbish little braggart about the entire thing, gleefully contemplating what sorts of conversations they would have throughout the torturous matter. And the source of all this hell was standing right in front of him... Hidden by a wave of flames. "Bastard... If I could just see who you were," he muttered under his breath, glaring at the silhouette that was 'Malik' as he and Anzu were led along the pier in an almost sheep-herding fashion.
"Hnhnhn... Maybe you never really could see," the Rod muttered with a chuckle, still forcing the blond's eyes to stare at his palm that he could watch the shade 'speak'. "Looking in your head here," he continued rather darkly, "There's a lot of stuff that isn't 'real' to the rest of the world after all... Why... I'm amazed you can even keep track of what's what 'Blondie! Hahahahaha!" That was probably the only thing that made being 'mind-controlled' worse.
This prick could see everything in his head, 'sane' thoughts or no. "Tch... Shut the hell up," Katsuya snarled, only to shudder as he was given a closer view of the eye on his hand yet again. The eye appeared to 'blink' 'sadly', teeth closing over somewhat as its host continued to shiver with repulsion. "Gh... You're more disgustin' than Parasite Paracide," he muttered, the tiny 'insect' coming to mind as the hand was lowered. "At least that thing didn' take over my head!"
"Ooooohh... Please! I'm only calling it as it is," the Rod said with a 'sigh', before again chuckling as its teeth chattered. "After all," it drawled almost sarcastically, "There are 'rules' to the whole 'mind-control' sh-bang; you gotta really dig deep to get these things! You want something to happen," the spirit continued to explain with a surprisingly severe tone, "You need to have the base emotions first... The base desire... This hate you feel, this rage and anger for your so-called 'best friend'... That's not my doing," the Rod continued, teeth creating a leering grin as the spirit chuckled. "That's allllll you... Those whispers to kill in the back of your mind... Well you were always a killer weren't you 'Katsuya'? You've done it before... And not just once," the spirit added, his host growing pale and cold with the words. "Not just once... You can't keep secrets from me boy! A killer is a killer, no matter how you spell it and wrap it up! It was just a matter of time before something like this happened," it shouted with a cackle, "I'm just speeding things up! Body's just the mind's play toy when you get down to it after all... And instinct is just instinct!"
Shut up... SHUT UP! Those memories were... "Get outta my HEAD," the blond roared, mouth refusing to move even as he walked at his slow and steady pace. "LEAVE!"
"Hnnn... no," the spirit 'decided' after a short pause, bringing back his hand and forcing Katsuya to stare forward rather than at the ground. "No I don't think so. But seeing how we're such great friends," the Rod continued with a sigh, "How about I give you a 'treat'?" He didn't want any kind of treat this thing had damn it! "Oh come on, don't be like that!" (Mind reading, right...) "Just listen! I'm bound to keep my dear lord and master's identity under-wraps for the moment, but how about we clear things up a little for you... Give you a REAL show hah? Hehehehehe..." What..? What the hell did that even mean- The blond jumped as his senses were returned to him abruptly, vision clearing save for a pillar of flame representing Malik standing at the side. He... He could see and feel himself again..! He could smell the salt water on the air, see Anzu in front of him, feel the wind blowing across his still wet and now just as cold body and-
"Hey," a man behind him snarled, shoving Katsuya forward as the blond mutely stumbled. Gh- The blond 'scowled' in response to the push, unable to turn back as the ghoul continued. "Keep moving!" Tch... He got his feeling back but he still couldn't do anything... Damn it.
"Oh but naturally you're still under my control," the Rod said with a chuckle, evidently quite amused by the grave disappointment in his host's mind. "What, you thought I'd be that stupid? Please... I'm the embodiment of a collective of powers you can only barely grasp and comprehend! And with a head like yours," the spirit spat incredulously, "I'm surprised you can do even that..." Katsuya merely growled in response to the comment, staring forward as his 'guide' rattled off about the powers of the device that was currently speaking to him.
"Tch..." Nothing but a foot-long dagger topped with a 'winged' eye, and yet this one had to be the one with flames and teeth! "Bastard..."
"Come on," the Rod laughed, "You and I both know you can do better than that!"
The blond merely continued to growl as he was led off, watching as a second 'pillar' of fires appeared from the side before scowling further. "What th'- I thought you said you were only protectin' Malik y' stupid flaming rat!"
The spirit chuckled with the continued cursing, his host listening as the man offered up what was apparently twelve locator cards. Twelve..! Malik actually hired someone to card hunt for him? "Hah! As if I'm revealing him to you," the Millennium Rod snorted, rolling its eyes. "This guy's important.. The only way you're getting his name is if you somehow manage to beat it out of my actual being... And I'd eat my physical body if you managed that!" He would love to see that, he really would... Get rid of a few problems that was for sure... And-
"What th-" Katsuya growled as his arm was snatched up by the ghouls at the side, the disk on his wrist manhandled as card upon card was slipped into the deck holder with his other ones. "What the hell!"
"Give him as many direct damage cards as you can," Malik was shouting, chuckling under his breath. "Make that deck so hot that he'll be singed by his own flames," he continued, the blond behind him scowling darkly behind the mask of indifference the Rod had instilled.
"It would prob'ly already singe me y' DICK!"
"Ohhhh, but who's checking," the Rod laughed, eye 'shaking' with a grin.
"SHUT UP," the blond snarled, only for 'his' mutterings to fill his mind. Kurose, kurose, kurose- Kill, kill, kill... "And stop that muttering! You're pissin' me off!"
"More than I already am you mean?"
"I swear t' god when I figure out how I got rid 'f th' eye I'm doin' th' same to you," he spat, 'clenching' his fists as he growled.
"Hnnn... You know," the Rod muttered, his host watching as the area was cleared of all other than himself and Anzu, "From what I can tell from your memories, that wasn't you..."
Shut. The fuck. Up, he thought darkly, getting continual chuckles as the wind howled around the two. If he was going to be stuck standing here, he'd rather get some form of silence...
-Hiiiiikariii noooo moto... Yami wa u-ma-re~- What th- Katsuya jumped as music rang through the air, the Millennium Rod allowing him to turn toward the source as it continued to play. Besides the fact that he'd just finished praying for silence, wasn't that... "Anzu's phone..?"
"Hnnn..." The Rod appeared to 'stare' at Anzu for a moment, the single eye on the woman's brow turning downward as it narrowed. "Who is it," the spirit barked, Anzu reaching into her purse almost robotically to find the answer to the question as the music continued.
-Fuuureta yoooru o... Ko-o-ra-seTE mo!- -click-
The phone was flipped open as Anzu stared blankly at the screen, music cutting short as it was connected through to the other line. "Oi, Anzu," a familiar voice shouted, the sound of muttering audible in the background despite the slight garbling. "Are you there," Honda asked, voice left somewhat more difficult than usual to realize from the sound of the phone. The woman holding the device continued to stare, the eye seeming to consider its options as Honda continued on the other end. "...Anzu? ...Anzu, can you hear me," he asked, the boat beside them giving off a loud blare from its horn as he shouted through the phone. "Anzu? ...Anzu!"
"...Turn it off," the Rod muttered in the end, the phone only briefly remaining on the line before it was folded over. "It's no one we need to speak to..."
"Tch... Like hell that's true," Katsuya growled, narrowing his eyes.
"Ahh..." The Rod laughed, bringing the blond's hand upward once more to 'speak' to his host as Katsuya shuddered. "But really my dear 'Katsuya'... Just who is asking you?"
"Man," Honda muttered as he walked down the aisle of the train they were in, a number of bento boxes stacked in his arms. "I finally got her to pick up but all I got was silence and a horn..." The teen pocketed his phone with a scowl, those from the seats he'd stopped by turning as he took his seat.
"Still no luck calling your friends then," Keiichi asked as he was handed two of the bento boxes, handing one of them to Shizuka as the girl nodded her thanks. There was a nod from the teen as he frowned somewhat worriedly, handing the last of the boxes to Otogi as he opened up his own. "Huh... So after all that you got nothing then," he said with a slight smirk, shaking his head. He'd been trying to call since they left the train station really... The fact that there hadn't been a single answer was apparently worrying.
The teen scowled as Keiichi continued to chuckle, Otogi merely rolling his eyes as he opened up what would be his 'dinner'. "Right... We can find out why Anzu's cell is broken when we get there," he said with a shrug, snapping his chopsticks apart with a frown. "For nowm lets just eat; we'll probably be in Domino within the next half hour," the teen continued seriously, "And I don't want to carry this around all evening..." He looked over at Honda at that, the teen laughing nervously in response.
"Ahahaha... Yeaaaa," he said with a cough. "There was a bit of a line and it cost more than I thought so..."
"We don't care," the shorter of the boys muttered, swallowing a large mouthful of rice as the tallest growled.
"Gh-! Ryuzaki..!"
"BACK to the point," Otogi shouted, Shizuka shaking her head as the boys argued while she ate. "Are you sure she just couldn't hear you," he asked Honda, the teen shrugging.
"Not really," he admitted. "I don't think she could hear me though... I mean, it got really noisy as I was asking about that, and all I could hear was this blaring horn..." Honda proceeded to mutter off to himself about what the horn could be at that moment, digging into his food as Shizuka put her own dish to the side.
"Hahh... I wonder how Katsuya-nihan is doing," the girl muttered, the boys turning as Shizuka calmly smiled at the thought.
Honda blinked for a few moments, tilting his head as a bit of rice dropped from his chopsticks. "Eh..."
"Nihan," Otogi asked, Keiichi rolling his eyes as the two held their tongues. It was an accent, live with it...
God... Honda quickly nodded despite the gesture remaining unseen, grinning as he continued to eat again. "Yea," he said with a laugh, "I'm sure he's doing great! I mean... ...Ah..." The teen paused, attempting to find something more to say as his friend elbowed him.
"If you say you taught him," Otogi muttered under his breath, "I'm not helping you out of the hole you're digging yourself..."
"A-Ahhhahahahaha..."
Shizuka laughed somewhat as Keiichi blankly stared in silence, before again shaking her head with a sigh. "You know," she muttered, the others turning as the girl leaned back in her seat, "Nihan wasn't very good at cards before," she said, rubbing her neck before smiling. "I guess he's gotten a lot better hah..?"
Her friend snorted, a grin coming over his face as he swallowed the last of his food. "Hah! More than 'better'," Keiichi shouted with a laugh, "He was over half-way into qualifying for the finals by the time I left! You wouldn't believe how much better he's gotten," he continued, shaking his head. "Heck... Maybe you two can have a match while we're there," the teen added, grin softening to a smirk as Shizuka nodded.
"Hah... Yea!"
Otogi blinked as the two friends shared this info, trading an odd look with Honda before coughing. "Er... Hang on," he said confusedly, the others turning toward him as he continued. "You two both fight each other constantly right? You're practically rivals aren't you," he went on, shaking his head. "So why are you..."
"Pff!" The teen snorted, leaning against his seat with a grin. "I didn't say he was 'better' than me," Keiichi said with a smirk, crossing his arms while the black-haired teen continued to stare.
"Then... Then why are you here," Otogi asked, the teen across from him instantly tensing up in response.
"Gh-! Because my opponent was a dirty cheat, that's why! And if it weren't for him giving back my card I would have-"
"AHHH!" The three jumped as Honda gave a shout, smacking his palm with a look of realization. "I got it... I know where I heard that sound," he continued, the others 'staring' more or less as the teen beamed. That was great, that really was, but what the hell was he talking abou- "A boat horn... It was a boat horn," he said with a grin, "They're at the pier!"
"A pier," Keiichi muttered incredulously, Shizuka as well tilting her head in confusion.
"But.. Why on earth would they be there," the girl asked, frowning somewhat.
"Ah..." The other two paused, trading frowns as they shrugged. That was a really good question...
Pity it would take another half hour before they could head over and get the answer to it.
AN: Damn mister 'Millennium Rod', for an evil guy I'm sure enjoying the time I get to type you... Pity this will only last for the duel...
It'll be like when I was writing Pegasus... And when I start writing Noa again... Haaaahh...
And oh boy, do those train-going boys (And girl) not know what they're about to end up in...
In other news, you know what's next... And I am going to have a BALL. If I manage to keep the duel under the two chapter limit though, you can bet it'll be a super chapter... But I wouldn't count on it not being split in two for the moment, as there's a lot more than cards going into that particular match! Personally, I'm just marvelling over how quick this chapter came out... Typing torturous scenes involving Jonouchi and the Millennium Rod come a little too easy I fear...
Now excuse me while I listen to 'Doubt & Trust', which was featured in this chapter; it's a very good song by the band 'Access', and if you search 'Doubt & Trust subbed' it'll be the first result you get.
Off to business now!
Anonymous Review Responses
He really should, shouldn't he Iona? Though at least he got out of that situation… We'll get some epic moments from him too, but not just now. Sadly, most of the time he was unseen between then and this chapter was made up of him running like hell… So yea.
But he'll definitely be showing off once we hit the Virtual World arc, thus allowing him to spread his little wings of pure bad-assery…
And aaaahhh yes… I don't believe I've ever heard the phrase 'stubborn as a stump', but I would more readily compare it to a mountain with Kaiba in mind. And yes she can! It progressed at about the same rate as Jonouchi's ability did as well; the only reason why Kaiba was spared the gore in the Duelist Kingdom was because she'd just 'woken up' to say the least. It took a few months for Jou's ability to sink in, and similarly, a few months before Kaiba's head opened up to seeing dear Blue-Eyes in reality.
Blue-Eyes won't ever talk though, so no super-scary-heart-attack moments concerning that sadly… Pity that. Well! Enjoy the chapter!
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The section that's hiding from the Millennium Rod; is the underside of your bed available?
The title for this decidedly frightening chapter is a play on the Tauk's earlier warnings against the 'eyes that devour', or rather the 'flames' with the aforementioned eyes. Tauk failed to mention that the flames also speak.
But the Tauk likely didn't even realize that could be possible; note that even the Rod is amazed at the awareness Jonouchi still has, despite being well aware of being able to be seen by him!
Skipping right to Jonouchi with today's guide (And yes, the 'dripping' was from the water in his clothes), the words he's hearing himself mutter in his mind, which is really just Malik muttering in his mind, was originally 'tsubuse' in the anime and manga.
Tsubuse, or 'Tsubusu' means 'to crush' or 'kill (time)'. Instead however, I used 'Kurose', which quite literally and bluntly means 'to kill'. Because really, that was the point of that match; Malik wanted Yugi dead, or at the very minimum psychologically shaken by the death of his own friend.
Technically, Yugi was supposed to tribute all three of these monsters to get Valkyrion. But it's treated more like a 'discard to grave and summon this bigger monster' type of effect in the manga and anime both, so I'm leaving it as that.
And as a matter of fact yes, Yami is referring to the Duelist Kingdom when he mentions faltering judgement. The fact is, Yami Yugi is a ghost. He's sharing a body, and locked in a puzzle, and given that he's referred to as a spirit we can safely say that his 'death' is no secret. And as a ghost, good and bad gets pretty black, white, and self-centred for the first bit, something that the manga's author even flat out said happened from the start… It's easy to throw his judgement, despite how 'awesome' he is, and his words last chapter are VERY serious; if not for his friends, and ESPECIALLY Yugi, his judgement would be just as Knight Templar as it was back in chapter one... Or rather, the one after that.
You know, the one where he set a guy on fire? Back when he was technically evil?
In any case, it's that kind of judgement that he currently knows as a very bad idea, hence why he's trying to coax Kaiba away from it. Besides winning of course. (Note how easily he's still slipping up once Malik mentions that last threat near the end...)
These parachutes are actually really cool by the way; the ghoul pulled on the chain of his cloak to release it. That's right guys. Ghouls get insurance cloaks! Pity that the Mask of Light couldn't use it... (And no, he didn't die in the manga and anime.)
If you haven't guessed, I've officially made 'Obelisk' 'Set' (AKA 'Sutekh', or 'Seth') for his Ancient Egyptian God counterpart. It creates a full circle actually; Set was said to watch over Ra during his evening journey, guarding him against Apep.
And for info on Ra, Pharaohs were said to be direct descendants of him… See the parallels yet?
Set was originally the God of Desert and Storm, but Chaos and Darkness were added to the mix later on when he kinda gained a bad rep... This happens when you do things like killing your brother AKA Osiris.
By the way, Kaiba's general reaction concerning all that is God-Card related scares the ever loving crap out of me. Seriously its... It's like she/he gets off on it. (Which the Abridged series of course covered...)
Yea guys. Obelisk has wings. You can see them whenever there's a shot of his back. Did it catch you off guard too?
Hey differences! Kaiba's considerably more affected by Jonouchi's being taken this time around (For somewhat unclear reasons...), so her reactions are far less 'amused' in appearance as a result. (Yea she was chuckling a lot in this chapter.) Hell, Yami's even calling her out on it; no matter how confused he was about the whole Hanami experience a while back, he can't deny that it happened, which thereby proves that there's at least some kind of connection between the two.
Anzu's ringtone is a song by Access that is called 'Doubt & Trust', which many will likely recognize as the first D-Gray Man opening. Specifically, these lines are both parts of the chorus… I'm not breaking this down kanji by kanji, but I'll give you the lines. ...Annnd I'll break it down Kanji for kanji for the first line, since the first line is simple enough. Not gonna try the second one though, because I only used half of the line, not half its translation.
'Hikari no moto, yami wa umare' is 'Darkness is born from the purest light'.
'Hikari' being 'Light', 'Yami' being 'Darkness'... 'Hikari no moto' signifies possession (From the 'no' particle), and 'moto' mean's origin, or source. It has a number of different kanji to represent it though, which is... Probably why it was written in hiragana. In any case, 'Hikari no moto' translates literally to become 'Light's origin', or 'Origin of Light'. It can also mean 'base', 'cause'...
As for 'Yami wa umare', 'wa' is the particle used after the subject of a sentence. Therefore, 'yami' is the subject here... 'Umare' in the meantime, is from the verb 'to be born', or 'umare-ru'. On its own, 'umare' simply means 'birth', or 'birthplace'... So basically, 'yami wa umare' is just using 'umare' to describe the darkness; in other words, 'darkness is born'. And since it's the subject of the sentence, and the Japanese language tends to neglect pointing out what should be fairly obvious, one can only assume that as the subject, 'light's origin' is being used to refer to the darkness. Therefore... 'Darkness is born from light', or even 'Light causes the birth of darkness'... And so we get the handy line above, which actually makes sense.
The next line used, which starts a couple seconds after (So that Jou and the spirit can speak to each other) is Fureta yoru o, koorasete mo, which means 'Though it may seem as if we can't escape this night'... According to the subtitles. This line was probably said to translate to that due to Japanese sentence structure; both phrases are fragments of half a sentence, but due to word order would be horribly garbled if they were translated directly... So there's obviously more to each sentence fragment here, but hey, it's a ring tone.
In any case, they're very appropriate lyrics for the moment wouldn't you say? One of those rare times I can mention what I was listening to as I typed... And you can probably guess why Anzu picked it in the first place...
Otogi's threat is a reference to what happened in the anime; despite himself and Otogi not really dueling (Though Otogi is quite obviously much better at it), Honda tells Shizuka that he taught Jonouchi how to duel. YEA. This backfires horribly when he's the first and only one to lose in Noa's Virtual World, for obvious reasons.
This is what he gets for lying! Anyways, since Ryuzaki would very quickly call Honda out on that lie if he pulled it in the fanfic, this is as close as we're going to get.
The dialogue for the last part is all either added, or mixed around from the chapter itself. A few of Ryuzaki's lines were originally from Honda... But Ryuzaki's not exactly the quite type, so he got them instead.
And in other news, hold off on your 'does this make Shizuka' a duelist questions. The answer is yes. Not hard core obviously, but trust me when I say that the reason for a 'rough start' in the Virtual World arc will be very different.
Now with that, we're done here! I'll see you in the next chapter, and until then, enjoy!